(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium.
(ii) Related Art
Image forming apparatuses capable of forming color images of high quality each use, in addition to color materials (for example, toner or ink) of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) (these colors are hereinafter referred to as “basic colors), color materials of colors other than the basic colors (hereinafter referred to as “custom colors”) to form an image on a recording medium, such as a sheet of paper. The image forming apparatuses using the color materials of the custom colors are hereinafter referred to as custom-color-supporting image forming apparatuses.
An image drawn by a user with, for example, an image editing application is stored in a computer, etc. as drawing data described in Page Description Language (PDL) (such drawing data is hereinafter referred to as PDL data). The PDL data includes an object to be drawn and data that specifies the color of the object. The PDL data is converted into separation data that indicates an element of each color material of the object by a separation process and, further, is converted into raster data that indicates a raster image of each color material by a raster image processor (RIP) process. The image forming apparatus performs overprinting using the respective color materials in accordance with the raster data for every color material to form one color image on the recording medium.
There are cases in which image forming apparatuses that form images by using the color materials of the basic colors (such image forming apparatuses are hereinafter referred to as “custom-color-no-supporting image forming apparatuses”) are used to confirm whether the image formation is improperly performed due to, for example, incompatibility in interpretation of the PDL data in the custom-color-supporting image forming apparatuses. In such a case, if the separation process and the RIP process are performed after a custom color specified for an object in the PDL data is converted into the basic colors in accordance with a predetermined mixing ratio and, then, is combined, an image formed in accordance with the raster data that is generated is not necessarily capable of accurately emulating an image formed by the custom-color-supporting image forming apparatus in an overprint area of overprinting, trapping, or the like. Accordingly, it is necessary to follow a procedure in which, after the separation data and the raster data of the respective colors including the custom colors are generated from the PDL data, the data resulting from conversion of the raster data of the custom colors in accordance with a predetermined mixing ratio is combined with the raster data of the basic colors.